Remember My Last
by DanyTheConqueror
Summary: On an August night in 1995, Albus Dumbledore sends a letter to Petunia Dursley. A missing moment from canon.


**Remember My Last**

He had been sitting in his study at Hogwarts doing the crossword puzzle in the evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_, windows open to let in the hot summer breeze coming off the lake. He was writing in the answer for 8 Down ("Merpeople use the poison from this animal as a weapon") when the shout of one of the portraits on the wall made his head snap up.

"What's the matter Ellen?" Professor Dumbledore said, looking up at the portrait of gimlet-eyed former headmistress Ellen McKinnon.

"It's Harry Potter," the witch said urgently. She still had not sat back on the chair behind her. "He is in a bit of trouble with the Ministry of Magic. Something about casting a patronus charm in front of a Muggle."

His exterior was calm, but the elderly headmaster's chest tightened. There was only reason for Harry to cast a patronus charm while on his summer holidays. The poor boy had had a rough end of term, to say the very least, and he could be reckless, but not in that way. No, if Harry was casting a patronus it meant that there had been a Dementor in Little Whinging.

"Who said this, Ellen?" Albus asked, half-answered question now forgotten.

"Mafalda Hopkirk," she replied. Ellen, a former Head in the Improper Use of Magic office at the Ministry had a painting there as well and was known to travel between the two to find something of interest. "I watched over her shoulder as she sent out the letter to Harry and as she summoned Cornelius Fudge to her office to tell him of the news." Her nose wrinkled slightly at the name, as though she'd just had something foul placed under it.

Albus was not surprised to hear it. Over the past couple weeks, the Minister of Magic had done nothing to prepare their world for the upcoming war. In fact, he had hardly taken the time to respond to correspondence that Albus had been sending his way. It was clear that, until the evidence became indisputable, Cornelius was not going to alert the population at large about what had happened at the end of June.

"Why was I not alerted of Harry's use of magic by more traditional means?" Albus asked, although he already knew the answer. He may be Chief Warlock of the Wizengamont and Supreme Mugwump for the International Confederation of Wizards, but he knew that Cornelius wanted to take those titles away. It had been written all over his face when they last met, as plain as day.

"What are you going to do?" Ellen asked, still standing.

Several of the other former headmasters and headmistresses were looking on with interest. They never shied away from giving advice or offering their opinions about the people who came to visit in the office or in the locations of their other paintings. This was a tremendous help at keeping Albus informed about the goings on in the wizarding world, but it also meant that it was very hard to do anything without an eager audience watching on.

"I will have to talk to Cornelius about the circumstances surrounding Harry's underage magic."

A former headmaster with a wide nose snorted. "That will not make a difference. That man is as stubborn as an ox and twice as stupid. The man's a bloody idiot."

Some of the other portraits laughed, but Albus did not. Given the circumstances, this was not the time to be making jokes. Cornelius Fudge's personality flaws were no longer something to be kept in check, but something that posed a great risk to them all. "I do not expect Cornelius to listen, but I must try to make him see reason all the same."

Several of the others expressed their feelings on the matter, all speaking at once so their voices were a jumble of sounds. Albus raised a hand, silencing them all. "I also must make sure that Harry is taken care of for the time being. If my instincts are correct, one of the Dursleys was the Muggle with Harry when the patronus charm was cast earlier this evening. But, being Muggles, they will not have been able to see what happened. I expect that poor Harry is trying to explain it all to his magic hating aunt and uncle as we speak."

As the former heads asked questions, Albus Dumbledore opened a skinny drawer near the top of his desk, off to his left side. It was a tiny thing, no more than two inches high, and rarely used. With long, slender fingers the headmaster opened the drawer just far enough to take out a red envelope.

Using the quill he had been filling out his crossword puzzle with, Albus carefully wrote Petunia Dursley's name and address on the front of the envelope. Yet, when he went to write down the message inside, he froze temporarily. He knew that she would be considering having Harry in the house a greater risk than ever and, with the prompting of her husband, she would consider sending Harry out of the house.

The risks that would be posed to Harry's life if he were sent out of the Dursleys' house were higher than they had been since the earliest days after Voldemort's disappearance. Now, with Voldemort back in power, Harry needed protection more than ever. Yet, the poor boy didn't know the entirety of his own story. He was too young, too damaged already, to put through all of that. So, in his ignorance, Harry would be willing to leave the Dursleys' and their protection forever.

But, despite the fact that Petunia was a Muggle, she knew all of this. Nearly fourteen years ago, on the evening after Lily and James Potter had been killed in their cottage, he had written a long letter to Petunia Dursley explaining why he had placed her recently orphaned baby nephew on her doorstep. In that letter, he had told Petunia Dursley things he had not said aloud to another person out of fear of the secret of Harry's protection getting out. Petunia's safety was important to Harry's, because she was Lily's only sibling and Vernon's acceptance of Harry could not be counted on in the events of Petunia's death. On the contrary, a death relating to magic would likely get Harry dropped off at the nearest children's home before you could get the word "magic" off your lips.

With a steady hand, Albus Dumbledore dipped his quill in his bottle of ink once more. On the parchment inside the Howler envelope, he wrote down only four words.

_Remember my last, Petunia._

It was short, but he felt like it should get the point across. Petunia Dursley, for all her flaws, would remember the letter she had received all those years ago, even if the contents had temporarily slipped her mind recently. After all this time, he felt certain that she would not kick Harry out. Despite her tumultuous relationship with her younger sister, she would not cast her only nephew out to be killed. Of that, Albus was positive.

He tied the bright red envelope to the leg of an owl, which promptly flew out the open window. As the owl flew south, heading for Little Whinging, Albus watched it grow smaller. He knew that Harry would not thank him for sticking him with the Dursleys for two more summers. On the contrary, his letter might make Harry angry at him.

Albus told himself it was all for the best as the owl disappeared from sight. Harry's anger would be an easy price to pay for the boy's safety.

Author's Note: This is sort of a missing moment from the start of _Order of the Phoenix_, written for a challenge about actions that helped Harry during the Second Wizarding War without being thanked. In case it was not clear, I had Albus Dumbledore.

I would love your feedback. Thank you for reading!


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